Read the Gospel of John online. New Testament - Gospel of John Brief description of Gospel of Mark

John baptizes Jesus and the people with a baptism of repentance. Fasting, temptation of Jesus 40 days. The calling of the apostles. He taught and healed the sick with authority: those possessed by demons, Peter’s mother-in-law, the leper. Preached in synagogues. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 2 Jesus forgave the sins of the paralytic who was lowered from the roof while he was carrying a stretcher. Visiting taxman Levi. A doctor for the sick. New wine needs a new container, and clothes need a patch. The disciples will fast without Jesus. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 3 Healing a withered hand on Saturday. Jesus appointed 12 apostles to preach and heal. Satan does not cast himself out; do not blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Whoever does God's will is the brother, sister and mother of Jesus. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 4 Parable of the sower: birds pecked at his grains and dried up, but some yielded a harvest. So, with words to people. The Kingdom of God grows within. The candle illuminates, there are no secrets. As you measure, so do you. Ban on the wind. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 5 Jesus cast out a legion of spirits from a possessed man. The demons entered the pigs and drowned them. Residents asked Jesus to leave because of the damage. Resurrection of the synagogue leader's daughter. The woman's faith heals her from bleeding. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 6 Jesus does not perform miracles because of the unbelief of his neighbors. Herod beheaded John the Baptist for his daughter. The apostles preach and heal, gathering 5,000 people from Jesus. They are fed bread and fish. Jesus walks on water. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 7 Dirty hands at the table are cleaner than dirty words from your mouth. Take care of your parents. Jesus refused to treat the daughter of a woman of a different nationality, said something about dogs, then changed his mind. He humbly healed a deaf and dumb man. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 8 Jesus fed 4,000 people with fish and bread. He healed a blind man. The Pharisees who demand a sign do not have the same leaven. Peter said that Jesus is not the prophet Elijah, not John, but the Christ. About the resurrection, do not be ashamed. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 9 Transfiguration of Jesus, killed and resurrected. Healing the mute from a seizure, help unbelief. Drive out by prayer and fasting. Who is bigger? Let the first be a small servant. Give me some water, don’t tempt me, cut off your hand. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 10 One flesh, no divorce. He blessed the children. Only God is good. It's hard for the rich, give it all away. The last will be the first to be destined. Drinking the cup of suffering in Jerusalem. Serve others. The blind man received his sight. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 11 Hosanna to Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus drove the sellers and money changers out of the Temple. The barren fig tree withered. Have faith, ask and you will receive, forgive others. The scribes allegedly did not know where John’s baptism came from. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 12 Parable that evil winegrowers will be killed. Give yours: both to Caesar and to God. God is with the living, not the dead. Love God and your neighbor! Is Christ the son of David? Showing off will be condemned. How the poor widow contributed the most. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 13 The Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed, there will be war, famine, disease, earthquakes. Preaching the Gospel. The Spirit will teach you what to say. Those who endure will be saved, flee to the mountains. The Son and Angels will come like spring, stay awake. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 14 The Anointing of Jesus with Incense. The Last Supper for Easter: the bread is the Body, and the wine is the Blood. Judas will betray him with a kiss for money, but Peter will deny. Prayer to carry the cup past. Arrest and sentence by the high priest. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 15 At the trial, Pilate does not blame Jesus, but the people ask to be crucified. Flagellation, ridicule, crucifixion on Golgotha ​​with thieves, eclipse. Guilt: King of the Jews. Save Yourself - let us believe! Death and funeral in a cave. Gospel of Mark. Mk. Chapter 16 On the resurrection, the women went to anoint the Body of Jesus with perfume, but they saw that the tomb-cave was open and empty. The young angel told them that Jesus had risen. Jesus appeared to the disciples and ordered them to preach salvation.

Authorship.

The text of the Gospel mentions that it was written

“the disciple whom Jesus loved and who at the supper, bowing to His breast, said: Lord! who will betray you?

However, according to most researchers, John was not the author of this Gospel.

Interpretation of the Gospel of John.

The Gospel of John differs from the first three canonical gospels, which were also called “synoptic” due to their similarity. It is believed that John preached orally for a long time after the resurrection of Jesus and only at the end of his life decided to write down his knowledge. He was familiar with the previously written “synoptic” gospels, and wanted to tell about the now unknown or forgotten acts of Christ. Similar notes made up the fourth Gospel.

John probably wrote the Gospel at the request of the bishops of Asia Minor, who wanted to receive instruction in faith and piety from him. John himself wanted to write a “spiritual gospel.” Compared to the Synoptic Gospels, which are largely narrative, the Gospel of John the Theologian represents the highest level of Christology. It describes Jesus as the eternal Logos, located at the origin of all phenomena.

The Gospel of John philosophically contrasts:

• God and Devil
• Light and darkness,
• Faith and unbelief.

John's account primarily focuses on Jesus' preaching and ministry in Jerusalem, as well as His interaction with and ministry to the disciples. Much attention is also paid to the seven signs that Jesus is the messiah, the Son of God. It also contains conversations interpreting the meaning of the miracles He created.

The book describes the seven “I Ams” of Jesus.

"I am…

1. ...bread of life"
2. ... light of the world"
3. ... the door to the sheep"
4. ... Good Shepherd"
5. ... resurrection and life"
6. …. the way and the truth and the life"
7. …. true grapevine"

The issue of faith is central to the Gospel of John. The author wanted to emphasize the permanence and vitality of faith in Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of John: summary.

The Gospel can be divided into 4 main parts:

• Prologue (chapter 1);
• "The Book of Signs" (Chapters 1 - 18);
• Farewell Instructions (chapters 13-17);
• The suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (chapters 18-20);
• Epilogue (chapter 21).

Prologue is a theological introduction stating that the words and deeds of Jesus are the words and deeds of God come in the flesh.

The Book of Signs describes seven miracles that testify that Jesus is the Son of God.

Seven Signs:

1. Turning water into wine
2. Healing the son of a courtier
3. Healing the Paralytic
4. Feeding 5000 people
5. Walking on water
6. Healing the Blind
7. Raising Lazarus

The purpose of Jesus' parting instructions was to prepare his followers for His imminent death and for His coming ministry.

The epilogue shows the Lord's plan for His disciples.

The Fourth Gospel was written by Christ’s beloved disciple, Saint John the Theologian. Saint John was the son of the Galilean fisherman Zebedee (Matt. 4:21) and Salome (Matt. 27:56 and Mark 15:40). Zebedee was apparently a wealthy man, for he had workers (Mark 1:20), and was apparently also not an insignificant member of Jewish society, for his son John had an acquaintance with the high priest (John 18:15). His mother Salome is mentioned among the wives who served the Lord from their estates: she accompanied the Lord in Galilee, followed Him to Jerusalem for the last Passover and participated in the acquisition of aromas for anointing His body along with other myrrh-bearing wives (Mark 15:40- 41, 16:1). Tradition considers her the daughter of Joseph the betrothed.

John was first a disciple of Saint John the Baptist. Having heard his testimony about Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, he immediately, together with Andrew, followed Christ (John 1:37, 40). He became a constant disciple of the Lord, however, a little later, after a miraculous fishing on Lake Gennesaret, when the Lord Himself called him along with his brother Jacob (Luke 5:10). Together with Peter and his brother Jacob, he was honored with special closeness to the Lord, being with Him in the most important and solemn moments of His earthly life. Thus, he was honored to be present at the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:37), to see the Transfiguration of the Lord on the mountain (Matthew 17:1), to hear a conversation about the signs of His second coming (Mark 13:3), to be a witness to His Gethsemane prayer (Matt. 26:37). And at the Last Supper he was so close to the Lord that, in his own words, it was as if he “was reclining on His forehead” (John 13:23-25), which is where his name “confidant” came from, which later became a common noun for designation of a person, especially someone close. Out of humility, without calling himself by name, he nevertheless, speaking about himself in his Gospel, calls himself a disciple, “whom Jesus loved” (13:23). This love of the Lord for him was also reflected in the fact that the Lord, hanging on the cross, entrusted His Most Pure Mother to him, saying to him: “Behold your mother” (John 19:27).

Fieryly loving the Lord, John was filled with indignation against those who were hostile to the Lord or alienated from Him. Therefore, he forbade a person who did not walk with Christ to cast out demons in the Name of Christ (Mark 9:38) and asked the Lord for permission to bring down fire on the inhabitants of one Samaritan village because they did not accept Him when He traveled to Jerusalem through Samaria ( Luke 9:54). For this, he and his brother Jacob received from the Lord the nickname “boanerges,” which means “sons of Thunder.” Feeling the love of Christ for himself, but not yet enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he dares to ask himself, together with his brother James, for the closest place to the Lord in His coming Kingdom, in response to which he receives a prediction about the cup of suffering awaiting them both (Matthew 20:20 ).

After the Ascension of the Lord we often see St. John together with St. Apostle Peter (Acts 3:1; 4:13; 8:14). Along with him, he is considered a pillar of the Church and has his residence in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:9). Since the destruction of Jerusalem, the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor has become the place of life and activity of St. John. During the reign of Emperor Domitian (and according to some legends, Nero or Trajan, which is unlikely), he was sent into exile on the island of Patmos, where he wrote the Apocalypse (1:9-19). Returned from this exile to Ephesus, he wrote his Gospel there, and died of his own death (the only one of the Apostles), according to a very mysterious legend, at a very old age, according to some sources 105, according to others 120 years, during the reign of Emperor Trajan.

As legend says, the fourth Gospel was written by John at the request of the Ephesian Christians or even the bishops of Asia Minor. They brought him the first three Gospels and asked him to supplement them with the speeches of the Lord that they had heard from him. Saint John confirmed the truth of everything written in these three Gospels, but found that much needed to be added to their narrative, and, in particular, to expound more extensively and clearly the teaching about the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that people over time would not begin to think about Him, only as in "Son of Man". This was all the more necessary because by this time heresies had already begun to appear that denied the Divinity of Christ - the Ebionites, the heresy of Cerinthus and the Gnostics. According to the testimony of the Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyons, as well as other ancient church fathers and writers, Saint John wrote his Gospel, prompted to do so precisely by the requests of the Asia Minor bishops, concerned about the appearance of these heresies.

From all that has been said, it is clear that the purpose of writing the fourth Gospel was the desire to complement the narrative of the first three Evangelists. That this is so is evidenced by the very content of John’s Gospel. At the same time, the first three Evangelists often narrate the same events and cite the same words of the Lord, which is why their Gospels were called “synoptic”, John’s Gospel differs greatly from them in its content, containing narrations of events and citing the speeches of the Lord, which are often not even mentioned in the first three Gospels.

A characteristic distinctive feature of the Gospel of John is clearly expressed in the name that was given to it in ancient times. Unlike the first three Gospels, it was primarily called the “Spiritual Gospel (in Greek: “pneumatics”).” This is because while the synoptic Gospels narrate mainly about the events of the earthly life of the Lord, and begin with a presentation of the teachings about His Divinity, and then contain a whole series of the most sublime speeches of the Lord, in which His Divine dignity and the deepest mysteries are revealed faith, such as, for example, a conversation with Nicodemus about being born again by water and spirit and about the sacrament of redemption, a conversation with a Samaritan woman about living water and about worshiping God in spirit and truth, a conversation about the bread that came down from heaven and about the sacrament of communion, a conversation about the good shepherd and especially remarkable in its content was the farewell conversation with the disciples at the Last Supper with the final miracle, the so-called. "high priestly prayer" of the Lord. Here we find a whole series of the Lord’s own testimonies about Himself, as the Son of God. For his teaching about God the Word and for the revelation of all these deepest and most sublime truths and mysteries of our faith, Saint John received the honorary title of “Theologian.”

A pure-hearted virgin, who completely devoted himself to the Lord with all his soul and was loved by Him with special love, Saint John deeply penetrated into the sublime mystery of Christian love and no one, like him, revealed it so completely, deeply and convincingly, both in his Gospel, and especially in three of his conciliar epistles, the Christian teaching about the two main commandments of the Law of God - about love for God and about love for neighbor - why he is also called the “apostle of love”.

An important feature of John's Gospel is that while the first three Evangelists narrate mainly about the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in Galilee, Saint John sets out the events and speeches that took place in Judea. Thanks to this, we can calculate what was the duration of the Lord’s public ministry and at the same time the duration of His earthly life. Preaching mostly in Galilee, the Lord traveled to Jerusalem, that is, to Judea, on all the main holidays. It is from these travels that Saint John mainly takes the events he narrates and the speeches of the Lord he recounts. As can be seen from the Gospel of John, there were only three such trips to Jerusalem for the Easter holiday, and before the fourth Easter of His public ministry the Lord died on the cross. From this it follows that the public ministry of the Lord lasted about three and a half years, and he lived on earth for about thirty-three and a half years (for he entered public service, as St. Luke testifies in 3:23, at the age of 30) .

contains 21 chapters and 67 church principles. It begins with the teaching of the “Word,” which “was in the beginning,” and ends with the appearance of the Risen Lord to the disciples at the Sea of ​​Gennesaret, the restoration of St. Peter in his apostolic dignity and the author’s statement that “his testimony is true” and that if everything that Jesus did was written in detail, then “the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

Chapter 1: The Doctrine of God the Word. Testimony of John the Baptist about Jesus Christ. The following of John's two disciples after the Lord Jesus. The coming to the Lord of the first disciples: Andrew, Simon, Peter, Philemon and Nathanael. The Lord's conversation with Nathanael.

Chapter 2: The first miracle in Cana of Galilee. Expulsion of traders from the temple. The Lord's prediction about the destruction of the temple of His body and His resurrection from the dead on the third day. Miracles performed by the Lord in Jerusalem and those who believed in Him.

Chapter 3: Conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the leader of the Jews, Nicodemus. New testimony of John the Baptist about Jesus Christ.

Chapter 4: Conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. Faith of the Samaritans. Return of the Lord to Galilee. Healing of the son of a courtier in Capernaum.

Chapter 5: Healing on Saturday the paralytic at the Sheep's Font. The testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ about Himself as the Son of God, having the power to raise the dead, and about His relationship with God the Father.

Chapter 6: The miraculous feeding of 5000 people. Walking on the waters. A conversation about the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. About the necessity of communion of the Body and Blood of Christ for the inheritance of eternal life. Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The Lord's prediction about His traitor.

Chapter 7: Jesus Christ rejects the brothers' offer. Jesus Christ teaches the Jews in the temple for the holiday. His teaching about the Holy Spirit is like living water. Dispute about Him among the Jews.

Chapter 8: Forgiveness by the Lord of a sinner caught in adultery. The Lord's conversation with the Jews about Himself, as the Light of the world and as Existing from the beginning. The denunciation of the Jews who did not believe in Him, as wanting to fulfill the lusts of their father - the devil, a murderer from time immemorial.

Chapter 9: Healing a man blind from birth.

Chapter 10: The Lord’s conversation about Himself as the “good shepherd.” Jesus Christ in the Jerusalem Temple at the Feast of Renewal. His conversation about His unity with the Father. An attempt by the Jews to stone Him.

Chapter 11: The Raising of Lazarus. The decision of the chief priests and Pharisees to put the Lord to death.

Chapter 12: Anointing of the Lord with myrrh by Mary in Bethany. Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. The Greeks want to see Jesus. Jesus' prayer to God the Father for His glorification. The Lord's exhortation to walk in the light while there is light. Unbelief of the Jews according to the prophecy of Isaiah.

Chapter 13: The Last Supper. Washing the feet. The Lord's prophecy about the betrayal of Judas. The beginning of the Lord's farewell conversation with his disciples: instructions on mutual love. Prediction of Peter's denial.

Chapter 14: Continuation of the farewell conversation about the many mansions in the Father’s house. Christ is the way, the truth and the life. About the power of faith. The promise with the sending of the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 15: Continuation of the farewell conversation: the Lord’s teaching about Himself as a vine. Advice on mutual love. Prediction of persecution.

Chapter 16: Continuation of the farewell conversation: a new promise about the sending of the Comforter Spirit.

Chapter 17: The High Priestly Prayer of the Lord for His disciples and for all believers.

Chapter 18: The Taking of the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. Anna's trial. Peter's denial. At Caiaphas. At Pilate's trial.

Chapter 19: The Scourging of the Lord. Interrogation of Pilate. Crucifixion. The casting of lots by the soldiers for the clothing of Jesus. Jesus entrusts His Mother to Joan. Death and burial of the Lord.

Chapter 20: Mary Magdalene at the tomb with the stone rolled away. Peter and the other disciple find the tomb empty with linens lying in it. Appearance of the risen Lord to Mary Magdalene. The appearance of the risen Lord to all the disciples together. Thomas's unbelief and the Lord's second appearance to all the disciples with Thomas together. The purpose of writing the Gospel.

Chapter 21: The Lord’s appearance to the disciples at the Sea of ​​Tiberias, the Lord asking Peter three times: “Do you love Me,” and the commission to feed His sheep. Prediction of martyrdom for Peter. Peter's question about John. A statement about the truth of what is written in the Gospel.

The word “gospel” belongs to the Greek language; translated into Russian it means “good news”, “good news” (good news).

We call the gospel the good and joyful news of the salvation of the human race from sin, curse and death, taught to people by our Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, and preached by the apostles.

From this definition of the Gospel it follows that only our Lord Jesus Christ can be called an Evangelist in the true sense of the word, since He is not only the Source of the Divine saving teaching, but also the Accomplisher of the great Calvary Sacrifice of love, ¾ Divine Love itself, through which the human race is saved.

Living among people, Christ expounded His Divine teachings orally.

Initially, the saving teaching of Jesus Christ was preserved in the Church in oral tradition, but subsequently the oral gospel was written down on parchment scrolls by the apostles and their closest disciples. From this time on, the name “gospel” also passed to these written narratives about the life and teachings of the Savior.

It must be borne in mind that in those ancient times many tried to set out in writing the life and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of all these writings, only four are recognized by the Church as canonical and are revered by it as sacred books. These are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Or rather, there is only one Gospel, for there is only one Savior Jesus Christ and one His teaching; but there are four expositions of the Gospel, written by four evangelists. Taken together, all these writings are called the Four Gospels.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, in contrast to the Gospel of John, are called synoptic because they are very close to each other in plan and content.

But the differences between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John the Theologian are not significant. If we compare all four Gospels, it turns out that in the main they are all in amazing agreement. All of them describe the life and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ - the Son of God and the Son of Man, holy, pure, meek and loving, powerful in words and deeds, sent by God the Father to save the world, who voluntarily accepted a painful death on the cross and rose from the dead.

The evangelists did not set themselves the task of expounding the entire teaching of the Savior for all times and peoples, but each wrote with a special private purpose determined by the conditions of his apostleship, and in accordance with this purpose they mentioned only certain sayings of Christ and the events of His life. Therefore, the Gospels in the first century were apostolic writings, intended for individual Christian communities and even individuals (Luke 1:1-4). But since these writings expounded the teachings of Christ and showed people the path of salvation, the Holy Spirit, living and abiding in the Church of Christ, preserved them for all times and peoples, for the Divine Truth, captured in the Gospels, cannot be limited either by time or by any something by society or people.

The time of origin of the Gospels cannot be determined with absolute certainty, but must be placed in the second half of the first century.

The first New Testament books, undoubtedly, were the epistles of the apostles, which were written for the purpose of teaching and strengthening Christian communities in the faith; but soon there was a need for books that would detail the history of the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

It can be assumed that ap. Matthew wrote his Gospel around 50-60 years after the birth of Christ, Mark and Luke several years later and in any case before the destruction of Jerusalem, i.e. before the year 70, and John - at the end of the first century, in old age.

The language in which the Gospels are written is Greek, not classical, but the so-called Alexandrian, the most widespread at that time. Books written on it were freely read by various peoples of the Roman Empire - from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and beyond.

The ancient Fathers of the Church saw in the Old Testament prototypes and symbols of the four Gospels. So, they compared St. The Four Gospels with the river, which, flowing from Eden to irrigate the paradise planted by God, was divided into four rivers flowing through countries that stored in their depths many precious stones and expensive metals (Genesis 2:10-14). This river is a symbolic image of the spiritual depth and greatness of the content of the Holy Gospel.

The Holy Fathers saw another symbol for the four Gospels in the mysterious chariot that the prophet Ezekiel saw near the Khobar River. It consisted of four animals, each of which had four faces: a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle. These animal faces, taken individually, became symbols for each of the evangelists.

Christian art since the fifth century depicts Matthew with a man or angel, since the ap. Matthew in his Gospel speaks more about the human and messianic character of Christ.

The Evangelist Mark is depicted in iconography with a lion, since St. Mark in his Gospel talks primarily about the omnipotence and royal dignity of Jesus Christ (the lion is the king of animals).

The Evangelist Luke is depicted with a calf, because St. Luke tells primarily about the high priestly ministry of Jesus Christ (the calf is a sacrificial animal).

And finally, the Evangelist John is depicted with an eagle, for just as an eagle rises high above the earth and penetrates into distant distances with its sharp gaze, so does St. John the Theologian, spiritually rising above everything earthly and human, primarily speaks in his Gospel about Christ as God the Word, the Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity.

1.1. Gospel of Matthew

Matthew, the son of Alphaeus, was one of the twelve apostles called by the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel. He also bore the name Levi and before being called by the Lord he was a publican, i.e. tax collector in Capernaum.

A faithful disciple of Christ, Matthew was an eyewitness to many miracles performed by the Savior and a constant listener to His instructions. After the ascension of Jesus Christ, he preached the good news to the Jews in Palestine and wrote the Gospel for them in Hebrew, or more precisely, Aramaic. Papias, bishop, testifies to this. Ierapolsky, student of St. John the Theologian.

But the original Aramaic text of the Gospel of Matthew has been lost, and only a very ancient Greek translation has reached us. Scientists suggest that the Gospel was translated into Greek from Aramaic by the Evangelist Matthew himself.

The main goal of the evangelist is to show the Jews that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah, promised by God to the chosen people. To this end, he cites many prophecies about the Messiah from the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament and says that they were all fulfilled in Jesus. Therefore, Ap. Matthew, more often than other evangelists, contains the expression: “Let what was spoken by the prophet be fulfilled...”.

The Jews were awaiting the coming of a Messiah who would establish a powerful kingdom on earth and make the Jews the dominant people in the world. In contrast to this narrowly earthly understanding of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, the Evangelist Matthew preached to his fellow tribesmen the true Kingdom of Christ, a spiritual, supernatural Kingdom, which lays its foundation on earth and ends in heaven.

Gospel ap. Matthew was written around the year 50. It contains 28 chapters, begins with a statement of the genealogy of Christ from Abraham and ends with the Savior’s farewell conversation with the apostles on one of the mountains of Galilee.

1.2. Gospel of Mark

Evangelist Mark was not one of the twelve Apostles of Christ and did not follow the Savior. He was originally from Jerusalem and had two names: in Roman he was called Mark, and his Hebrew name was John. Ap. was converted to Christianity. Peter, who calls him his spiritual son (1 Pet. 5:13).

Burning with the desire to spread the faith of Christ among the pagans, St. Mark in 45, together with the apostles Paul and Barnabas, his uncle, traveled to Asia Minor, but in Pamphylia he was forced to say goodbye to the apostles and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).

Evangelist Mark from a young age becomes a devoted disciple of St. Peter, is a constant companion in his preaching activities and does not part with his teacher until his death in Rome. From 62 to 67 St. Mark together with Ap. Peter is located in Rome. Roman Christians, even during their first visit to St. Peter asked him to write them a book about the life and teaching of the Savior. In response to this request, St. Mark outlined everything he heard from the apostle. Peter about the earthly life of Christ in written form, very clearly and vividly. St. testifies to this. Clement, bishop Alexandria, as follows: “While the Apostle Peter was preaching the gospel in Rome, Mark, his companion... wrote... a Gospel called the Gospel of Mark.” And St. Papias, bishop Hierapolis, says: “Mark, the interpreter of the Apostle Peter, wrote down the words and deeds of Jesus with accuracy, but not in order.” This evidence, going back to the second century, is enough not to doubt the ownership of the second Gospel by St. Mark.

In all likelihood, St. Mark wrote the Gospel for Christians converted from paganism and little familiar with the history and life of the Jewish people. Therefore, in the Gospel there are very few references to the Old Testament, but various Jewish customs are often explained, the geography of Palestine is described, and Aramaic expressions that are incomprehensible to Roman Christians are explained.

The main purpose of the Gospel is to confirm in the converted pagans faith in the Divinity of the Savior and to show them the Divine power of Christ, the Son of God, over all creation.

Gospel of St. The brand consists of 16 chapters. It begins with the call of St. John the Baptist to repentance and ends with the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ to heaven and the preaching of St. apostles

We do not have data to accurately determine when the Gospel of Mark was written. In any case, it was written later than the Aramaic Gospel of St. Matthew and, in all likelihood, in the fifties, when St. Peter visited Roman Christians for the first time.

According to ancient tradition, the Evangelist Mark was the first bishop of the Alexandrian Church and died a martyr.

According to the historian Eusebius (IV century), Luke came from a pagan family of natives of Antioch in Syria. He received a good Greek education and was a doctor by profession.

Having believed in Christ, St. Luke becomes a zealous student and constant companion of the apostle. Paul on his apostolic journeys. He relentlessly follows his teacher, shares with him the labors of the second and third apostolic journey (Acts 16, 10-17; 20, 5-21) and remains with him during his stay. Paul in custody in Caesarea and Rome (Acts 24, 23; 27, 28; Col. 4, 14).“Luke, the beloved physician,” the apostle calls. Paul among his companions, who were his consolation during the Roman bonds (Col. 4, 11-14).

Under the influence of the sermon of St. Paul St. Luke writes the Gospel, addressing it to Theophilus (Luke 1, 1-4), a man of high social status, converted to Christianity from pagans, and in his person to the Christian communities founded by St. Paul - "apostle of tongues."

Desiring to give pagan Christians a solid foundation of the teaching in which they were instructed by the apostle. Paul, St. Luke sets himself the goal: 1) to convey to the believers, “after careful examination” and “in order,” the words and deeds of the Savior and 2) to strengthen with this narrative faith in the Savior of the world.

Sources for writing the Gospel of St. Luke was served, as he himself says, by the stories of living persons who “were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word from the very beginning.” (Luke 1, 2). He met them in the company of ap. Paul in both Jerusalem and Caesarea. The basis of the Gospel narrative about the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ (chapters 1 and 2) is, apparently, the Sacred Tradition written in Aramaic, in which the voice of the Virgin Mary Herself is also heard. But there is another legend that says that St. Luke himself met the Mother of God, heard stories from Her about the Lord, and painted the first icon of the Holy Virgin with the Baby Jesus in her arms.

In addition, when writing his Gospel, St. Luke also used the previously written Gospels of Matthew and Mark.

In addition to the Gospel, Saint Luke also wrote the book “The Acts of the Holy Apostles.” Both of these works reveal the talented hand of a historian who, with extraordinary accuracy and conciseness of presentation, was able to give a picturesque and, moreover, historically based narrative. But we must not forget that the entire narrative of Luke and his very language bears the imprint of the thought and speech of St. Pavel.

Gospel of St. Luke consists of 24 chapters. It begins with the events preceding the birth of Jesus Christ and ends with the ascension of the Lord into heaven.

1.4. Gospel of John

Apostle John the Theologian, younger brother of the apostle. Jacob, was the son of the fisherman Zebedee and Solomia. John was born on the shores of Lake Galilee. In his youth, he helped his father fish, but then went to the Jordan to St. John the Baptist and became his disciple. When the Savior appeared on the banks of the Jordan, John loved the Messiah with all his soul, became His faithful and beloved disciple and never parted with Him until the day of His ascension into heaven. After the death of the Savior, St. The apostle accepted the Mother of God into his home and took care of Her until Her dormition. Then, probably after the death of the ap. Paul, John the Theologian, for preaching purposes, moved to the city of Ephesus, which, after the destruction of Jerusalem, became the center of the Christian Church in the East. There he raised future bishops: Papias of Hierapolis, Ignatius the God-Bearer, Polycarp of Smyrna.

Under Emperor Domitian, he was exiled to the island of Patmos, where in visions the Lord showed him the future destinies of the world. He recorded all these visions in a book called “Revelation” or “Apocalypse”.

Only under Emperor Nerva did St. the apostle was able to return from exile to Ephesus.

Having in the person of Ap. John, one of the closest witnesses and eyewitnesses of the “ministry of the Word,” the Christians of Ephesus began to ask him to describe to them the earthly life of Christ the Savior. When they brought John the books of the first three evangelists, he approved of these books and praised the evangelists for their sincerity and truthfulness of the narrative. But at the same time, he noticed that the three evangelists pay more attention to the human nature of Christ. The Apostle John told his followers that when talking about Christ coming into the world in the flesh, it is necessary to talk more about His Divinity, since otherwise, over time, people will begin to judge and think about Christ only by what He appeared in earthly life.

Therefore ap. John begins his Gospel not with a statement of events from the human life of Christ, but first of all points to His pre-eternal existence with God the Father.

The Incarnate Christ is the Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, the Divine Word (Logos), through Whom everything that exists came into being. (John 1, 1-3).

Thus, the purpose of writing the Gospel can be expressed in the words of the evangelist himself, addressed to the Ephesian Christians: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20, 31).

By this, the evangelist wishes to protect Christians from the heresies spreading in Asia Minor (Cerinthos, Ebionites, Nicolaitans), who denied the Divine nature of the Savior.

Complementing the weather forecasters, St. John describes mainly the activities of Christ in Judea, talks in detail about His visits to Jerusalem on major holidays.

The Gospel was written in the nineties of the first century, shortly before the death of St. apostle

Gospel of St. John the Evangelist consists of 21 chapters. It ends with the story of the appearance of the risen Lord to the disciples on Lake Galilee.

The Christian New Testament includes four rather lengthy texts called the gospels. All of them are original biographies of Jesus Christ. But at the same time, being sacred texts, they are also theological treatises that reveal the personality and mission of Jesus from a theological perspective. This property of them leads to the need to compile versatile commentaries, which have been written by exegetes with varying success for almost two thousand years. Below we will go through the content and also provide a brief interpretation of the Gospel of Luke.

About the Gospel of Luke

Orthodoxy, like Catholicism and Protestantism, recognizes the Gospel of Luke as a sacred, inspired text. Thanks to this, we know much more about him than about other gospels that are not included in the canon. For example, we know that the gospel of Luke was written around 85 AD. Traditionally, the authorship is attributed to one of Paul's companions, a doctor named Luke. It was written for the communities of converts associated with the mission of this apostle. The language of the monument is Greek.

Gospel of Luke: Contents

The Childhood of Christ.

Preparing Jesus for Ministry.

Sermon in Galilee.

Transfer to Jerusalem.

Sermon in Jerusalem.

Suffering, death and resurrection.

Appearances of Christ after the resurrection and ascension.

Prologue of the Gospel of Luke

The prologue of this work consists of one long sentence in which the author presents to the addressee, named Theophilus, the purpose of his writing. It consists in strengthening him in Christian instruction - a creed that he, apparently, had recently accepted. At the same time, Luke notes that works of this kind have already been compiled and continue to be compiled by many other Christians. He argues for the value of his work by the fact that he first carefully collected all the information relating to the essence of the matter, and arranged it in a logical, chronologically reliable, in his opinion, order.

Childhood of Christ

Convincing the reader to accept the messianic role of Jesus is the main purpose with which the gospel of Luke was written. Chapter 1 is preparatory in this regard, as are the several that follow it. It must be said that from the text of the monument a historiographical tendency is clearly visible to divide history into three periods: the time of the Old Testament revelation (Israel), the time of Christ (which is narrated in this gospel) and the time of the Church after Christ (this time will be discussed in the book of Acts, written by the same author). So, the first few chapters are designed to build a bridge from the Old Testament to the time of the coming of the Messiah to the world. The interpretation of Luke's gospel at this point is based on the interpretation of the role of Old Testament figures descended from priestly dynasties. Through instructions and revelations received from above and through their response actions, they prepare the world for the coming of the one whom, according to the thoughts of the author of the gospel, the Jewish prophets announced in ancient times. To do this, the text quotes the Old Testament several times, accompanied by an unequivocal interpretation that the birth of Jesus was predicted a long time ago and he is the divine messenger and Deliverer. These events include the two annunciations to Mary and Elizabeth (who both conceive Jesus Christ and John the Baptist, respectively), their meeting, the stories of the birth of their two babies, the bringing of Jesus to the Jerusalem temple for circumcision, and the episode in which Jesus appears as a twelve-year-old boy The last event is worth dwelling on in more detail.

12-year-old Jesus and the Jewish sages

Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke, was distinguished by extraordinary wisdom and knowledge from his very childhood. This episode, for example, tells how the family of Christ went from their native Nazareth to Jerusalem for the holiday. When the celebration came to an end, all the relatives set off on their way back, but Jesus' parents - Mary and Joseph - did not miss the boy, thinking that he was with other relatives. However, when three days passed, it became clear that Jesus had been forgotten in the capital. Returning for him, his parents found him in the Temple, where he communicated with teachers of the law and sages, delighting and amazing them with his not only adult, but even inhuman wisdom. At the same time, Jesus called God his father, which was by no means typical for Judaism of that time.

Preparing Jesus for Ministry

The Gospel of Luke sets out in some detail how Christ prepared for his entrance into public ministry. This is preceded by a story about the preaching of John the Baptist, who, according to the first chapters of the monument, was his relative. By this time, the matured John had become a hermit, preaching in the desert and practicing the ritual of solemn repentance of sins through washing in the waters of the Jordan River. Christ also went through this ritual. According to the gospel account, when Jesus emerged from the water, the Holy Spirit descended on him like a bird, and from heaven a divine voice proclaimed Jesus to be the son of God. The baptism scene is then followed by the genealogy of Christ. The Gospel of Matthew and Luke are the only two texts that have preserved for us the genealogy of the Savior. However, they differ significantly. The strong theological bias evident in these family lists makes them more theological commentaries on the life of Christ than his reliable genealogical data. Unlike Matthew, whose family tree of Jesus goes back to Abraham, Luke goes even further and reaches all the way to Adam, after which he indicates that Jesus is the Son of God.

The place of genealogy in the composition of the gospel was not chosen by chance by the author. Implicitly, the image of Jesus as the new Moses is emphasized here (and the fulfillment of the latter’s prophecy about the new prophet), the narrative of which was also, after prehistory, interrupted by genealogy (Book of Exodus, chapter 6). After the genealogy there follows a story about the temptations of Christ that he experienced in the desert from the devil. The point of this story is to weed out false tendencies in the readers' understanding of the messiahship of Jesus.

Sermon in Galilee

The ministry of Christ in Galilee is the next important period in the life of Jesus, which is narrated in the gospel of Luke. Chapter 4 opens this section with the story of the rejection of Christ's messianic claims by his fellow citizens of Nazareth. After this incident, the Savior goes to Capernaum and preaches there, as well as in the vicinity of Lake Tiberias. Several significant events take place here. The Gospel of Luke begins the story of this period with the miracle of casting out demons. This episode generally opens a series of miracles attributed by the gospel tradition to Jesus Christ. In this monument there are only twenty-one of them. Those that were committed at Capernaum are summed up by the statement that the whole people followed him. Among this people were the first disciples of the Savior, who later became apostles. This is one of the differences between this gospel and others in terms of the chronology of events. According to the text of the gospels of Mark and Matthew, the calling of the apostles preceded the Capernaum miracles.

Such a bright statement about oneself in Galilee caused a reaction from radical religious groups of Jews. Christ became the object of attacks and entered into forced disputes with representatives of the Pharisaic party. There were five of them in total, and they concerned various aspects of the Mosaic Law. Jesus emerges victorious in each of them, leading to a conspiracy against him. Luke then describes the episode in which Jesus chooses twelve chief disciples - his inner circle. And then the author describes the event known as the Sermon on the Mount. The Gospel of Luke, however, describes it somewhat differently than it is presented in the text of Matthew. One of the differences is that the place of preaching is moved from the top of the mountain to its foot. Plus, its material was quite seriously reworked and rearranged.

The next block within the framework of the Galilean sermon tells about the miracles performed by Christ and the parables he told to the people. Their general meaning boils down to explaining to the reader who he is and confirming the messianic and divine dignity of Christ. The parables of Luke's gospel in this respect represent material borrowed from earlier sources. At the same time, the author creatively reworked it to a large extent in order to adapt it to the purpose of his narrative.

Transition to Jerusalem

About ten chapters are devoted to Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and his ministry within its borders. This is a fundamentally new section in the text, and it is preceded by its own introduction. Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke, realizes that he is coming not just to preach and perform miracles, but in order to accept death for the sake of atonement for the sins of the whole world. This one of the basic Christian doctrines is very clearly reflected in the nature of the actions and words of the image of Jesus that is characteristic of this gospel.

Particularly worth noting here is a pamphlet that tells how, on the way to Jerusalem, Christ was met with hostility in a Samaritan settlement. This creates a striking contrast with the narrative of the Gospel of John, where, on the contrary, Jesus is greeted very cordially in Samaria and is even recognized as the messiah en masse. This story is also not without theological and ethical content. In response to the Samaritans' rejection of Christ, two of his closest apostles - John and James - propose nothing more or less than to bring down fire from heaven in the image of the prophet Elijah and incinerate the city. Christ responds to this initiative with a categorical refusal, reproaching his disciples for ignorance of the spirit to which they belong. This plot is followed by three dialogues between Christ and various people who express a desire to follow him. In them, or more precisely, in Jesus’ responses to these wishes, the full absoluteness and height of the requirements for the Savior’s disciples are revealed. The role of these dialogues in the gospel is to demonstrate the ethical perfection of Christian teaching. This comparison is offered from two perspectives - the pagan worldview and the Jewish religious law, which are presented as inferior to what Jesus offers and preaches.

Gospel of St. Luke further tells about the missionary campaign of the apostles, numbering seventy-two people. Before this, there was already a similar mission of twelve apostles, briefly mentioned by the author earlier. It is likely that the two missions are an artistic invention of Luke himself, based on different interpretations of the same material. However, there is a theological meaning to this. It consists in preparing the reader for the further narration of the book of Acts, in which the dominant role of the coalition of the twelve apostles comes to naught, and other personalities begin to exert the main influence, among whom the Apostle Paul, who never saw Christ during his life, becomes the absolute authority and magnitude. In addition, the number twelve in the Old Testament is associated with the twelve tribes of Israel, that is, with the completeness of the Jewish people. Therefore, the twelve apostles of the Gospel of Luke also relate specifically to the Jewish world. But one of the fundamental tasks of this text is to convince the reader of the universality of Christ’s mission, that his ministry is addressed to all peoples of humanity. The fullness of pagan humanity, all the nations of the earth in the same Old Testament are associated with the number seventy-two. That is why the author needed to create another mission of seventy-two apostles.

The return of the disciples from the missionary campaign ends with the solemn transfer by Christ of special mystical power to cast out demons and perform miracles. This is interpreted as the fall of Satan's kingdom under the onslaught of divine power.

What follows is a very important place in the gospel in terms of the ethical content of the gospel of Jesus, which tells about a learned scribe, a Jewish sage who came to Christ to tempt him. He does this by asking about the most important commandment. However, Jesus’ answer that the whole law and the prophets consist in the single commandment of love for God and neighbors delights the scribe. Following this, he clarifies who is considered a neighbor. Here, as is in the spirit of the Gospel of Luke, Christ tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, which illustrates that by neighbors we mean all people without exception.

Sermon in Jerusalem

Service in the capital of Judea and the religious center of the Jewish world is a very short period of the life of Christ, but, nevertheless, extremely important. Jesus spends his nights in nearby villages - Bethany and Bethagia. During the day, his activities are concentrated in the vicinity of the Jerusalem Temple. As in the other gospels, the first entry into Jerusalem is tinged with solemnity and is noticeably ritualized. It is described in such tones in order to present this event as the fulfillment of some Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would enter the holy city as a king, sitting on a donkey.
Then follows the story of the cleansing of the Temple from traders. The same story is found in other texts, for example, in Mark. However, here Luke again changes the chronology of events, placing the cleansing on the day of the entry into Jerusalem, and not on the day after. After this, Christ begins to teach the people daily. And people listen to him en masse and recognize him as at least a prophet, as the Gospel of Luke reports. Christ’s sermons boil down mainly to the fact that the Jewish religious authorities of his time usurped the powers of the priesthood, but by their actions they did not serve God. The second important motive in his teachings is his own messianic role. Jesus does not speak about it directly, but with his questions he provokes the people listening to him to accept this fact. The Pharisees and the elite of Jewish society, being exposed, plot to kill Jesus. However, they are prevented from doing this by the enormous popularity of Jesus among the people, so they develop a cunning plan.

Suffering, death and resurrection

The immediate story of suffering is preceded by an important episode in which Christ, in the circle of his closest disciples, celebrates a ritual meal called the Last Supper. In theory, it is a festive Easter meal. Its symbolism is quite deep, since the role of Christ correlates with the role of the sacrificial lamb, which is prepared and eaten on this holiday. In addition, Jesus teaches the disciples bread and wine, which symbolize his own body and blood. Theologically, all this is interpreted as the establishment of the sacrament of the Eucharist. After the meal, the holy gospel of Luke tells how the disciples, together with Jesus, go to the Mount of Olives, where they are arrested and Christ is led to trial. Without dwelling in detail on the details of these events, we note that their interpretation again correlates with the prophecies of the Old Testament about the suffering righteous man. The suffering and death of Jesus, therefore, are not meaningless - he is serving the punishment for the sins of the whole world, thanks to which every person can henceforth be saved from the kingdom of Satan.

As a result of the Roman and Jewish courts, Jesus is found guilty and sentenced to crucifixion. However, oddly enough, the judges themselves are forced to make this verdict. Pilate, Herod, and even the Roman soldier who pierced Christ with a spear admitted that he was innocent and a righteous man before God.

Appearances of Christ after the Resurrection and Ascension

The story of Christ's resurrection from the dead and his appearances to his disciples is the most important thing in the gospel narrative. Here we are not even talking about new ethics, but about soteriology - the ontological salvation of humanity, which is made possible through this very resurrection. Therefore, Christian Easter is the most important church holiday. It is this event that gives meaning to the phenomenon of Christianity and is the basis of religious practice.

According to Luke, the appearances of the resurrected man, unlike Matthew, are localized not in Galilee, but in Jerusalem and its environs. This emphasizes the special connection between Christ's mission and Judaism. It consists in the fact that, according to the concept of the author of the gospel, Christianity is the successor to Judaism. Therefore, Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Temple as the sacred geographical center of this religion is the beginning of the gospel story of Luke and its end. The last appearance of Christ ends with the scene of his ascension into heaven and the return of the disciples in joy and hope to the Jerusalem Temple.